The group that constituted this year’s Logansport’s 13-year-old All-Star team fell short of its annual goal of winning a state championship.
The squad placed fourth at last week’s Babe Ruth Northern State Tournament in St. John. Logan opened the tourney with a loss to South Bend Harris (11-1) before beating Osceola (7-3, 12 innings), Taylor (21-5, 5 innings) and Elwood (7-3) in loser’s bracket play. Logan was then eliminated by Kokomo by a 4-2 decision.
“We played good defense throughout, that’s what kept us in it,” Logan coach Dan Frye said. “And we pitched the ball well.
“We just didn’t hit the ball.”
Frye said the squad’s lone bright spot at the plate was Nito Luna. Other than him, the team was in a collective slump.
“We were one of the top teams in the state. We finished fourth without swinging the bats except for one kid. One kid is not enough,” Frye said.
The fourth-place finish was thus a disappointment.
“Any time this group of kids is not playing for a state championship is upsetting,” Frye said. “Beyond South Bend having a lot more kids to choose from, they’re not ahead of us. I believe every other team was hitting and we weren’t.”
Logan never did fully break out its slump according to its coach.
“We’d show signs of getting out of it, then we’d start popping up a bunch on the infield,” Frye said. “Our timing wasn’t very good. Kokomo had a kid who curveballed us to death in the last game. We didn’t face a pitcher who was overpowering the whole tournament, but they all threw curveballs. Team-wide, except for Nito, we struggled swinging the bats except for a couple games.
“It had us scratching our heads of what to do offensively. I tried to impress on the kids that as hitters you go through those times. We had kids who had good years in league play hitting against 13, 14 and 15 year olds. In the state tournament we went 6-2. So in eight games you only have about 24 at-bats or so apiece, so those 24 at-bats can go by pretty quickly. Unfortunately for us it wasn’t just one guy slumping, it was 12. But it was another learning experience. The guys played hard and came together as a team as far as picking each other up. We had all kinds of chances. I was hoping we’d play long enough to where we’d start swinging the bats like we could.”
Frye said that Clayton Frye, Travis Palmer, Dustin Clements and Luna all had impressive tournaments on the mound. He added the entire team had a smooth transition this summer to the big field from the Cal Ripken League to Babe Ruth.
“I think these kids adjusted well and learned a lot from playing on the big field,” he said. “You look at all the aspects of the game, I was pretty happy with their base running and defense. We saw what we need to work on to get to the next level.”
Local Sports
Related Photos
Discussion
Logan’s 13s place 4th at state tournament
Squad falls short of state championship goal
- Local Sports
-
-
Berries take finale
For the most part Logansport’s girls basketball team was sharp in a sectional tuneup at Winamac Thursday night.
-
Berries ready for big matchup in huge venue
Logansport’s boys basketball team will be right in the middle of Super Bowl festivities tonight.
-
Logan competes at swim prelims
Logansport freshman Jen Crafford will be seeded second in the 100-yard breaststroke at Saturday’s finals of the Warsaw girls swimming and diving sectional.
-
Kokomo tops Logan in wrestling regional final
Logansport’s wrestling team was foiled again by Kokomo.
The Wildkats, who edged out the Berries to win the North Central Conference title, did the same in Wednesday night in the team regional final, handing them a 40-28 defeat at the Berry Bowl.
-
Showley leads Comets’ charge
With one more win Caston’s girls basketball team can record its most wins in over a decade.
Spearheading the Comets’ improved season is 5-foot-9 post Jessica Showley, who leads the Comets in averaging 9 points and 8 rebounds per game.
-
Stealing time in the great outdoors
The weather of late has been unbelievable to say the least. I have a hard time knowing this is the middle of winter and the temperatures are pushing the 50 and 60 degree range. I am not complaining, but I am waiting for the other shoe to drop.
-
PREP ROUNDUP: Indians forge past Kings
When the going got tough for Twin Lakes, the bigger Indians became even more determined to get the ball inside against Lewis Cass’ girls basketball team Tuesday in Walton.
-
PREP WRESTLING: Berries hope for a grand finale
Logansport’s wrestling team is hosting a team regional tonight for the last time in the foreseeable future.
-
Berries roll to third straight wrestling sectional crown
On paper, Logansport’s wrestling team was an underdog entering Saturday’s Twin Lakes Sectional.
But it certainly didn’t turn out that way when the two-time defending champion Berries went toe-to-toe with their opponents.
-
Kings rip Bulldogs, end skid
After getting roughed up the previous night at Maconaquah, Lewis Cass’ boys basketball team wasted no time Saturday in showing that it’s good to be home as the Kings easily dispatched Clinton Central, 79-54.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
Killer of Fla. Girl Found in Landfill Gets Life
Army Orders Bradley Manning Court-martial
Cancer Charity Revives Breast-screening Grants
Heavy Snowstorm Hits Colorado On Its Way East
2nd Teacher From LA School Arrested on Sex Claim
Prosecutors Close Armstrong Inquiry, No Charges
Sights and Sounds: Football Fans Pour Into Indy
Unemployment Rate Down to 8.3%
Obama: Still Far Too Many Americans Need Jobs
GOP: Jobs Numbers Welcome, Can Do Better
Fla. Man Adopts Girlfriend in Legal Battle
More Deaths As Egypt Clashes Continue
Raw Video: Prince William in Falklands
Egpyt Protesters Blame Police for Soccer Deaths
'Lucky' 9-Year-Old Receives 6-Organ Transplant
Raw Video: Michelle Vs. Ellen in Pushup Contest
First Person: Will Peyton Manning Stay in Indy?
Egypt Shaken After Deadly Soccer Riot
New Suits, New Starts for New York's Unemployed
Hall of Famer Dorsett Speaks Out on NFL Injuries
